Monday, April 18, 2011

Beach and memories at Fort Kochi

Ask me where the best place is to be,
Right here on the shores of Fort Kochi.
Lazing by the languid beach,
Gazing at the curling waves,
Joyous days past,
Gush forth overwhelming the heart.

A childhood spent rolling in the sand,
Screaming at the waves,
"Mother Ocean if you dare, come drench me"
Believing blindly thrusting challenges
Forced the ocean to throw
Its mightiest waves to wet tiny restless feet.

When i was younger,

There were no

fancy antique stalls, bearded snake charmers and circus wallas

Haunting the beach.

Neither Kathakali evenings,

nor magic Ayurveda massages in vogue.

And yet it felt like home,

Naively native.

Today the scene has changed,

The rhythm fine tuned,

More foreigners throng this place,

Home stays and pushy guides

Orchestrate the tourist rush.

Minting money, winning hearts,

Selling the soul of this land.

Today i return,

Years and realizations later,
Witnessing a shore no longer endlessly winding.
Only a paltry cobbled pathway,
Much polished and posh,
And yet the shore
eaten up by the sea
Is starkly amiss.
The stretching sand,
Enough to play football n freebie
Is lost alas.

I am told the sea is gobbling up the land
Like a thirsty monster on rampage.
A row of moldy rocks block,
further intrusion
Of the thunderous threatening waters;
The beach broad and sprawling,
The sands i used to know,
Is only a treasure cherished in memories
Of nostalgic fools like you and I.

When i was younger across the ocean,
Stood the horizon.
Today stands an island:
The cherished project of the government
Promising wealth and well being for the land.
They say
The sand from this side of the shore,
Was swept across partly by ocean n mostly by man,
to form this mound of future prosperity.

Bathed in shimmering lights the container terminal,
Echoes the image of a cruise ship at dusk.
Its true it reflects prosperity.
But sitting by the bench on the adjacent shore,
Gazing at this massive construction,
Cant help but wonder,
Meddling with the ways of nature,
Were we shouting,
"Mighty Ocean, if you dare throw us a Tsunami"?
Coz when i was younger i trusted the waters,
Like everything else in life.
But today sitting by the sea
Distrust always lurks by.